Life In Bonita Springs

Hire a Team of Real Estate Help First

If you had to speculate what a first time home buyer looked like how would you describe one? I asked a few contemporaries and got answers like: In my area, under the age of thirty, newly weds, recent college graduates, young people building “the dream”.

The other day my phone rang and it was a friend of a friend with a real estate dilemma. I hate to even call it that because while it was a dilemma to her, it really wasn’t on the spectrum of true real estate dilemmas. She lives in an area of the country that was hit hard by massive over building and the subsequent market downturn. Sound familiar?

As luck and opportunity would have it, she was embarking on the journey of purchasing real estate … for the first time in her life.

What is unique about this first time home buyer is that she probably isn’t what anyone would suspect was a first time home buyer due to her age which I would generalize as simply over forty. Agents just keep assuming she’s an experienced home buyer when the reality is that she isn’t and she’s sick to her stomach with stress and having a hard time holding her Cheerios down.

We chatted for a bit and started to get to the bottom of why she was feeling so overwhelmed. It boiled down to the same basic reason why most people are overwhelmed buying and selling real estate - not enough information and not enough communication.

For what it’s worth, this first time home buyer isn’t alone. As a matter of fact, there are actually a huge number of real estate consumers who should cut themselves a little slack and think of themselves as first time home buyers simply because the market is so different and full of new firsts.

Buying and selling real estate has been turned inside out in the last five years and the way that people bought and sold real estate before the year 2005 is now quite different in most circumstances.

All differences aside with the actual climate of the market, it doesn’t even begin to broach the complications and nitpickery of getting a buyer’s loan through underwriting, waiting for a seller’s lender to approve a short sale or any number of surprises that today’s real estate buyer just wouldn’t suspect was lying in wait.

Like I told the friend of a friend, the greatest gift that any potential home buyer or even a home seller can give themselves in this market is the latitude to take a step back; ask for more advice than usual and to not be afraid to make it clear when they’re feeling confused or overwhelmed.

Whether you’ve bought and sold a dozen homes or you’re about to buy your first, choose your team carefully and remember to speak your mind. You will continue to be stressed and confused unless you have things in order and trust your real estate team.

1. The only stupid question is the question not asked.
2. Surround yourself with a team of experienced people smarter than yourself; real estate agent, attorney, home inspector, mortgage broker.
3. Choose these people carefully and make sure they communicate the way you need to be spoken to in order to understand.
4. Use a reputable local lender and make sure that both you and the real estate you intend to buy is actually financeable before you start.
5. If you’re feeling uneasy, you simply don’t have enough answers to move forward … and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Revert to question number one and three.
6. If you find yourself repeating step five you’ve probably made a bad hire somewhere along the line.

Spanish Wells Yellow Daisies

Absentee Real Estate Purchasing in Florida

Buying Real Estate Sight Unseen

For some folks buying something as simple as clothing online is intimidating. It’s just too much of a commitment without touching and feeling the fabric. They couldn’t possibly imagine a big ticket item like a car or jewelry and living with the consequences of a regretted decision.

It might make you wonder how people buy real estate sight unseen. Then again, maybe you didn’t know that there is a unique breed of real estate buyer who will actually purchase real estate sight unseen. And they’re not the flipper breed of real estate buyer, either.

With the advances in technology there is just so much a consumer can learn about online, and that includes real estate. They find the property online, research the community and neighborhood, check the clerk’s office or tax collectors site, snoop around the area on Google Earth and nose around on real estate valuation sites. The only thing missing from researching the purchase is having their feet on the ground for a personal tour.

Most of the clientele who purchase real estate sight unseen have been to Southwest Florida before. They’ve either lived here before or vacationed in the area. Often times they have a neighborhood or a specific floor plan in mind when they’re searching.

Remember back in 2004-2005 when buyers would purchase sight unseen just to get their mitts on any piece of property because the market was moving so fast? Well, it’s happening again but in a more orderly fashion.

The consumers who have been patiently watching the real estate market trying to gauge the time to get back in are on the move. They’re stumbling onto some fabulous opportunities, many of which sell quickly. Unfortunately, when a great opportunity presents itself they’re back north and they’re not able to take action unless they purchase sight unseen.

In the entry level price point, time is of the essence due to short supply and there isn’t time for someone to fly in and look at the property before placing an offer. Buyers are doing their own homework, calling their agent to preview the property in their absence and relying on the inspection process to insure the property is a sound value and in fair condition.

Buying real estate sight unseen isn’t for the faint of heart. If it’s a gamble you’re willing to take, there are a variety of ways to get a great deal, protect your interests and scoop up that great opportunity that pops up out of the blue.

• Use an experienced, trusted buyer’s agent who can be your eyes and take additional photos for you.
• If you have a family member or friend who lives in the area have them tour the property on your behalf.
• Verify the value of the property and make sure it’s a great deal, a prime location or a popular floor plan so the risk has reward and the property will be easily marketable in the future.
• Consult a real estate attorney and consider using clauses in the contract which would allow for visual inspection of the property by a specific date.
• If you’re purchasing a foreclosure or short sale the contract will likely be as-is with the right to inspect. There may be time to arrange a visit between contract execution and the date of the inspection.
• Hire licensed, recommended home inspectors and have the home thoroughly inspected.

If your knuckles started turning white just reading about purchasing real estate sight unseen it’s probably not for you. If it is something you’d consider, remember that even if you’re buying sight unseen it doesn’t have to be a blind purchase. There are systems and procedures that can help ensure that you get that great deal and that you’re buying sound real estate.

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Real Life in Bonita Springs is a project by Chris Griffith dedicated to writing useful blog posts for consumers about the Bonita Springs, Florida area.  Find out what it is really like to live in Bonita Springs, Florida by reading about our fair city. You’ll get the latest in local real estate information, Bonita Springs real estate market reports and a little bit of humor.  If you have topic ideas, feel free to request a story about the idea, after all, this site is just for you.

You can subscribe to a weekly email newsletter by visiting www.LifeInBonitaSprings.com and entering your email in the subscription area on the center pane of the web page or by adding us to your reader by subscribing to this blog. Oh, and if you’re reading this content anywhere else but www.LifeInBonitaSprings.com or Naples Daily News it is probably stolen.

Gulf Access Riverfront Real Estate

Some of the choicest riverfront, gulf access real estate is located along the Imperial River in Bonita Springs and the Estero River in Estero, Florida.  The wider, deepest stretches of the river are dotted with luxury real estate, single family homes with boat docks.  Occasionally, there may be an offering of a vacant riverfront lot.

Riverfront homes in Bonita Springs are not generally located in deed restricted communities unless they are in Bonita Bay, River Reach, Serrano, Brendan Cove or Paradise Village.  Homes on the Imperial River were built independently, over a spread of years so the houses vary in design, style and age. Riverfront real estate is generally irregular size and varies in square footage or acreage.

Riverfront real estate varies in price but generally becomes more affordable towards the east, furthest from the Gulf of Mexico.

The choice to live riverfront is made by those who enjoy boating, fishing, canoeing, kayaking and pleasure boating to many of the waterfront restaurants in Bonita Springs, Fort Myers and Naples.

The back bays of Bonita Springs and Estero are accessible via the Imperial and Estero Rivers.  All combined, the waterways are also part of the Great Calusa Blueway.  The back bays are the west coast version of the Intracoastal Waterway.

In addition to riverfront real estate, there are some offerings of creek front real estate, also.  Spring Creek is “small craft navigable” starting near the area of the community of Cedar Creek. Spring Creek continues west, circles Pelican Landing and begins to head north near the Fish Streets and exits into the bay.

If you’re searching for riverfront real estate the following major rivers and creeks are located in south Lee County:  Imperial River, Estero River, Spring Creek, Oak Creek. Cocohatchee River is in north Collier County and easily accessible by boat from the Bonita Springs and Estero areas.

A Decade of April Real Estate Sales Statistics

The final numbers for April 2011 may change slightly as a few sales become recorded over the next few days.  The end of the month happened on a weekend, at the end of Easter weeks so there may be a few properties lingering about, not closed out.

At any rate, the real estate sales continue to rival sales rates for 2003 to 2004.  The units of real estate are selling well.  Prices are down and this winter when the tourist population returned to Southwest Florida they realized there were many underpriced areas and started snapping up the deals.

Look for continued strong record sales for the next few months as the winter real estate deals close sale.  Locally, we’re anticipating a robust summer real estate season as many of our winter visitors usually come back to buy at a more leisurely pace.  Towards the end of our winter season many of the entry level value real estate deals sold off, many times with multiple offers and bidding wars.

SW Florida Real Estate | Condition of The Sale April 2011

SW Florida Real Estate | What Price Range Sold April 2011?

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All information is deem accurate, not guaranteed and subject to change.  Check the date on this report for freshness.  If you have questions regarding your particular neighborhood, your street or your home specifically you’re welcome to contact us for a current market report. Real estate consumers that read this website are urged to seek independent, professional legal, real estate and financial advice before engaging in any transaction. All information is deemed, accurate, subject to change and not guaranteed.

SW Florida April Real Estate Statistics

The larger portion of real estate sales in Southwest Florida continue to be in the $400,000 and under price range, with improvements to the $600-800,000 price range.

To review the real estate market reports including historical real estate sales in Southwest Florida and the condition of the sale, read also:

SW Florida Real Estate: Condition of The Sale April 2011

SW Florida Real Estate | Historical April Sales 2002-1011

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All information is deem accurate, not guaranteed and subject to change.  Check the date on this report for freshness.  If you have questions regarding your particular neighborhood, your street or your home specifically you’re welcome to contact us for a current market report. Real estate consumers that read this website are urged to seek independent, professional legal, real estate and financial advice before engaging in any transaction. All information is deemed, accurate, subject to change and not guaranteed.

Short Sale, Foreclosure & Equity Real Estate Sales

The closed real estate sales for April 2011 in the Sunshine MLS has revealed nearly 74% equity real estate sales.  Last year at this time there was 69% equity sales.  The slight improvement in the real estate market has been notice primarily in the under $600,000 price range.

Historical sales and statistics related to what price range in real estate is selling is included in the April real estate market statistics reports.  Read also:

SW Florida Real Estate | Historical April Sales 2002-1011

SW Florida Real Estate | What Price Range Sold April 2011?

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All information is deem accurate, not guaranteed and subject to change.  Check the date on this report for freshness.  If you have questions regarding your particular neighborhood, your street or your home specifically you’re welcome to contact us for a current market report. Real estate consumers that read this website are urged to seek independent, professional legal, real estate and financial advice before engaging in any transaction. All information is deemed, accurate, subject to change and not guaranteed.

Foreclosure Fixer Uppers and TLC Needed Defined

Just exactly how much “tender loving care” does a property that needs TLC really require?

Well, isn’t that a question just chock full of possibilities? The definition of fixer-upper and “needs TLC” really is in the eye of the beholder. Any one person’s opinion of what is a fixer-upper is no different than another person’s opinion of what a nice location is. It’s all relative.

Since the southwest Florida real estate market has been working its way through the foreclosures the fixer-uppers and properties which “need TLC” have been around for a while. Bargain hunters have been picking up the value priced, entry level properties and the supply has diminished considerably. What’s left bouncing around at the bottom are some of the TLC properties.

Buyers know there are deals out there and they usually say they’re willing to do some work on the properties which need TLC. In their mind, quite often, they’re thinking paint and new carpet, which should probably be what “needs TLC” should actually mean. In reality it’s a gray area and describing some conditions as “needing TLC” is really taking liberties.

The reality is that the TLC term could also mean that the home was used as a huge litter box by the prior occupants before it became the giant Petri dish that it now is. The air conditioner may or may not be on … or may or may not have been pedaled on Craigslist.

Just an FYI, its degree of TLC-ness may also render it ineligible for some financing programs.

Ever the dutiful little agent, the last Petri dish I showed (upon the buyer’s insistence) was everything I imagined it would be and so much more. The pictures really weren’t that bad. What the pictures can’t show are odors and the circumstances, both real and imagined, which caused said odors.

So for the savvy international buyers who wanted so badly to go home and show all of their friends the lovely Florida foreclosure feather in their cap, the reality of this home’s condition set in.

The buyers tried to keep their composure and act like they were expecting this and had encounter shock at this level one thousand times before. They walked the entire structure and when they exited there was silence until I said, “Circle, circle, dot, dot you need a cootie shot.”

It was immediately announced that it was no longer necessary to see properties requiring TLC if TLC is a Gary Buseyism for “totally layered in crap”.

There was actually better condition and newer in the same price range several miles away, so off we went and that’s where they purchased. No cootie shots require.

There are no guidelines, local, state or federal, for what “needs TLC” means. Consumers are at the mercy of what another human being puts in the remarks section of the multiple-list, based on the contributor's opinion or their own life experiences.

While it would probably be helpful, there is no rating system on a scale of one to ten, to qualify the condition of a fixer-up slash TLC property.

So go forth and get your bargain foreclosure and remember that if it only needed new carpet and paint, the remarks would probably read, “needs new carpet and paint” not “needs TLC”.

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Real Life in Bonita Springs is a project by Chris Griffith dedicated to writing useful blog posts for consumers about the Bonita Springs, Florida area.  Find out what it is really like to live in Bonita Springs, Florida by reading about our fair city. You’ll get the latest in local real estate information, Bonita Springs real estate market reports and a little bit of humor.  If you have topic ideas, feel free to request a story about the idea, after all, this site is just for you.

You can subscribe to a weekly email newsletter by visiting www.LifeInBonitaSprings.com and entering your email in the subscription area on the center pane of the web page or by adding us to your reader by subscribing to this blog. Oh, and if you’re reading this content anywhere else but www.LifeInBonitaSprings.com or Naples Daily News it is probably stolen.

Business is Closed!  Out of Business

The great American shopping destination for landscape or gardening needs is often the big box stores. Bonita Springs and Estero each have one of the big box stores.  Bonita Springs also has mom and pop boutique sized landscape and gardening stores sprinkled about, too.

Hidden away in Old Bonita Springs is a landscape store called The Garden Corner.  It’s on the corner of Felts Avenue and Dean Street.  You’ve probably driven by it a thousand times and never knew something so cute was just one block off of Old 41 Road, just a few blocks south of the Mexican Pottery Store.

The Garden Corner, Bonita Springs, Fl

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You’re really missing out if you don’t stop in and take a tour.  There’s a wonderful, knowledgeable sales staff to help for just about every gardening and landscape need you could possibly have.  The Garden Corner has been in Bonita Springs for years so they know Bonita Springs flower gardens and the soil.

The Garden Corner can tell you what to plant and where to plant it so that it thrives.  If you’re a northern transplant you can get that hands on education about our climate and what will work for your lawns and gardens.

The Garden Corner stock changes often.  You can find local garden nursery favorites like gardenia, hibiscus, impatiens, other flowering plants, fruit trees, herbs, pest treatment solutions, garden ornaments and so much more.  Support local businesses in Bonita Springs.  Stop in and visit the professionals at The Garden Corner and spruce of the curb appeal of your Bonita Springs home, today!

If you’d like to contact the experts at The Garden Corner:

239-992-2125

The Garden Corner

27756 Felts Avenue

Bonita Springs, Florida 34135